College Station lounge under TABC certification investigation after officer is assaulted

The TABC has opened an investigation into Social Lounge, a club in College Station, and the club will certainly be asked whether employees have successfully passed a TABC certification course. The TABC investigation is the result of a belligerent, out of control Texas A&M student who assaulted a police officer. Oh, and did we mention the student is a minor and was drunk?

Officers were responding to a call regarding a large group of people fighting at the lounge, and when they arrived they found the student being restrained by several people. When police attempted to detain him, he essentially confessed to being under the influence of alcohol because when an officer asked why he had been drinking since he’s a minor, the student replied “you know how it is.” During the arrest, the student resisted and kicked one of the officers in the groin. The student was charged with assault on a public servant, resisting arrest, and public intoxication.

One of the biggest factors that can cause the TABC to investigate your
establishment is prior complaints. If the TABC or local law enforcement
has received complaints about your restaurant, bar, or liquor store
serving minors or intoxicated people, then you are certainly more likely
to be the subject of an investigation or sting operation. According to
the TABC, Social Lounge was issued their liquor permit just more than a
year ago and the TABC has received three complaints during that time
regarding minors being served alcohol.

While it’s not clear where the student obtained the alcohol, the TABC said it will conduct an administrative investigation to determine whether the bar had any involvement. Essentially, they’ll investigate whether the bar served alcohol to the student or failed to take necessary steps to ensure he was not being served by another patron while in their establishment, and the TABC will certainly be examining whether the employees have all passed an approved TABC certification course. Although passing a TABC certification online course or on-site course is not required by law, it can be a vital part of the investigation process because it shows the establishment requires an atmosphere of following the law amongst its employees.

As we say all the time, it’s really not hard to follow the law and make wise decisions that will protect yourself, your establishment, and your customers. All you need to do is ensure 100% of your employees have a valid TABC certification, have a zero tolerance policy for serving minors or intoxicated people, and watch your customers to ensure minors or intoxicated people aren’t obtaining alcohol from other customers in your establishment. There’s not much to it, but the consequences of not doing these things can be substantial.

 

Back to Blog